[quote=SK in CV][quote=bearishgurl]
I’m curious, SK. What did builders want to know from the results of your project? And, if any of them learned that SD (or CA) was “overbuilt,” did they then leave the state in search of buildable land as a result of your report?[/quote]
Essentially they wanted to know probable absorption rate for new housing based on a gazillion assumptions. Three of the four that contracted for the work paid attention and removed work from the pipeline primarily after 2007 and stopped buying land inventory. And one is bankrupt.[/quote]
As you know, I’m one of the biggest advocates for DB pension plans, but even I would not have made them whole on their investments. There are other ways to fix the problem which would include changes to benefit formulas (reducing benefits), but that would have had to go hand-in-hand with asset price deflation. This way, the purchasing power of retirees would not have been affected as much since the price drops would have kept their purchasing power fairly stable even with the reduced benefit payments.
Instead, what they’ve done is reduce the purchasing power of fixed income earners — affecting both current workers (public and private) whose wages have been stagnant/declining, and retirees — while enriching the wealthiest asset holders…all at the expense of taxpayers. That is just wrong, IMHO.
